Note: This story has been altered to reflect a firm opening date of Monday, Sept. 17.

Scott Stein thinks it's probably better that he and Antimo DiMeo didn't get the space they initially wanted for Bardea Food & Drink, the Italian restaurant the partners are opening in downtown Wilmington.

Stein says five years ago they had settled on a site near Fourth and Market streets. But, for a variety of reasons, the space didn't work out. It's now home to Merchant Bar, a popular eatery owned by La Fia restaurateurs Bryan and Andrea Sikora.

Still, their dream of an Italian eatery didn't die. It just took a few more years and a move three blocks away.

But, by this time next week (and possibly sooner), the pair plans to begin welcoming customers to their new 120-seat restaurant.

Bardea, on the corner of Seventh and North Market streets, takes over the space formerly occupied by Kennedy Fried Chicken. It also is the latest eatery to open on the city's North Market Street thoroughfare.

The restaurant joins other such newcomers as Stitch House Brewery and Farmer & the Cow, which both opened in March, and Margaux, a French brasserie that's been in business since June.

The choice of downtown eateries, including Chelsea Tavern, Ernest & Scott Taproom, UD Creamery, DiMeo's, BrewHaHa!, the Hotel du Pont's Green Room, nearby Bull Bay Caribbean Cuisine on Orange Street and the DE.CO food hall coming soon to the DuPont Building at 10th and Orange streets, gives customers a greater dining selection in the area than in recent years.

Indeed, whereas the restaurant building surge had once seemed almost solely focused on the Wilmington Riverfront, it's hard not to notice the downtown revitalization movement.

Bardea, pronounced bar-DAY-ah, is the Italian term for "the goddess of food and drink." The 5,000 square-foot space, which had also once housed an optical store, law firm and other businesses, has been completely refurbished.

"As soon as we walked in, we were blown away. We're really excited to be a part of Market Street," says Stein of the space created by Eimer Design of Philadelphia. Renovations costs were not disclosed.

The decor includes using some of the building's original tin ceilings, highlighting a large bank of windows looking out onto Market Street and creating a 20-seat rectangular bar. A high-tech lighted "goddess garden" mural in the main dining room was inspired by the views DiMeo saw daily while he was cooking at restaurants in Italy.

Five years ago might have been too early for Bardea in downtown Wilmington, says Stein, who lives in Philadelphia.

While he says he feels the potential was always there for the Italian restaurant, the area now has become much more of a dining destination and has more residents than it did in 2013.

"I felt like it was on the cusp and now the market is ready for us," Stein says. "This reminds me of Fishtown in Philadelphia. It's starting to pop."

The Buccini/Pollin Group, one of Wilmington's largest property owners, bought the historic 2 E. Seventh St. building that houses the restaurant in 2016.

The restaurant was initially supposed to be called Ardé Osteria and be run by Giuseppe “Pino” DiMeo, Antimo's father and a partner in DiMeo’s Pizzaiuoli Napulitani on Wilmington's Market Street as well as eateries in Pennsylvania that are now closed.

He is no longer involved. Pino DiMeo pleaded guilty in September 2017 to two counts of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, failing to report $2 million in income, and nine counts of filing false tax returns.

Stein says he and Antimo DiMeo decided to change the name from Ardé to Bardea. Ardé, a restaurant they operated in Wayne, Pennsylvania, was sold late last year.

Antimo DiMeo, who lives in Philadelphia and has worked in DiMeo's Pizza, is Bardea's executive chef.

He and Stein say Bardea and DiMeo's Pizza at 831 N. Market St. are separate businesses and will not share or overlap menu items. DiMeo's is a Neapolitan pizzeria, while Bardea will offer upscale-yet-approachable Italian cuisine.

Bardea will be open daily for lunch and dinner. Stein says they're hoping to attract families on Sundays, a slow day for downtown businesses, and they may eventually offer brunch.

For the restaurant's beverage program, Stein and DiMeo turned to Stein's old high school buddy Brian Freedman, a national spirits, wine, food and travel journalist who writes for Food & Wine and Forbes magazines.

Freedman has ensured that every wine in the restaurant has Italian heritage, though not all of them are from Italy. Some are crafted from Italian grape varieties grown around the world. Freedman also helped to create a cocktail list of remastered classics, including 10 cocktails which will be presented with the restaurant's own spin.

Bardea will feature a rotating selection of regional craft beers. Glasses of wine will range from about $8 to $12.

Stein and Chef DiMeo say that while their new restaurant will showcase a number of classic Italian dishes, don't expect “old school, red gravy Italian classics.”

The pair are calling the menu "interpretive Italian," saying they are remastering classic Italian dishes, but also presenting dishes with their own spins.

DiMeo, who's from southern Italy and has worked with Chef Gennaro Esposito at La Torre Del Saracino, a Michelin Star restaurant located on the Amalfi Coast, just south of Naples, says fish and seafood will be an important part of the menu.

In addition to sliced meats and imported cheese, the menu also includes thin-crust pizzas crafted from organically milled wheat and rye flour that are baked in an imported oven.

Fresh pasta will be made for the pappardelle with lamb bolognese, but dishes also will use dried Pasta Mancini pastas imported from Italy.

DiMeo says the top-quality pasta comes from hard, durum wheat grown on a family farm in central Italy's Le Marche region. He says the pastas have an artisanal, textured finish that hold sauces better than fresh pasta.

"People are so educated about pastas now," DiMeo says. "This is made in the old-school tradition. It really is farm-to-pasta. The flavor of the pasta speaks for itself."

Bardea also will offer gluten-free pastas. Various breads and other grain products will come from Lost Bread Co., a popular Philadelphia bakery headed by James Beard Award-nominated baker Alex Bois.

Prices at Bardea will range from $6 -$10 for snacks; $10-$15 for 11-inch pizzas; $9-16 for small plates; $15-$17 for pastas, and $15-$29 for large plates.

The opening date is tentatively set for Monday, Sept. 17, though the partners might just open their doors quietly before then. The city is holding a ribbon cutting Friday at 10:45 a.m.

Bardea will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant will serve lunch every day until 3 p.m., with weeknight happy hour and dinner beginning at 5 p.m.